BEIJING (AP) — China won’t restrict exports of medical goods needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic, a government spokesman said, amid tension over scarce masks and ventilators. China, the biggest maker of surgical masks and other products, announced last week it would start inspecting exports...

In this April 13, 2020, photo, a couple walk through the capital city's popular shopping mall in Beijing. Chinese leaders have reopened factories and shops in an effort to revive the economy, but the consumers whose spending propels most of China's growth have been slow to return to shopping malls and auto dealerships. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

BEIJING (AP) — China, where the coronavirus pandemic started in December, is cautiously trying to get back to business, but it’s not easy when many millions of workers are wary of spending much or even going out. Factories and shops nationwide shut down starting in late January. Millions of...

FILE - In this March 4, 2019 file photo, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad listens to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speak at an event in Johnston, Iowa. The U.S. ambassador to China said Wednesday, April 15, 2020, that he doesn't believe Beijing is deliberately blocking exports of personal protective equipment and medical supplies, adding that the shipment of 1,200 tons of such products to the U.S. could not have been possible without Chinese support. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to China said Wednesday that he doesn’t believe Beijing is deliberately blocking exports of masks and other medical supplies to fight the coronavirus, and that the shipment of 1,200 tons of such products to the U.S. could not have been possible without Chinese...

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Forced apart by the coronavirus pandemic, Southeast Asian leaders linked up by video Tuesday to plot a strategy to overcome a crisis that has threatened their economies and kept millions of people in their homes under lockdowns. The 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast...

In this March 31, 2020 photo, workers in protective suits stand near a COSCO container ship docked at a port in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. China's government reported Tuesday, April 14, 2020 that exports fell further in March compared with February amid a global economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (Chinatopix via AP)

BEIJING (AP) — China’s exports fell in March but at slower pace than the 17% contraction seen in January-February as the coronavirus shutdown paralyzed much business activity. Exports sank 6.6% from a year earlier to $185.1 billion, an improvement over the 17.2% contraction in January and February...

A man in Hyderabad, India watches on his mobile phone Prime Minister Narendra Modi address the nation in a televised speech about COVID-19 situation, Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Modi has extended the world’s largest coronavirus lockdown hoping to head off the epidemic's peak as officials race to make up for lost time. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A)

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the world’s largest coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday to head off the epidemic's peak, with officials racing to make up for lost time as the caseload crossed 10,000. Modi ordered India's 1.3 billion people to continue to largely stay...

A man gestures to the camera as he rests in a public square in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 10, 2020. The government declared a "health emergency" amid the new coronavirus pandemic, restricting movement to only those who provide basic services, enacting a curfew and closing schools. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno unveiled an emergency economic plan Friday aimed at rescuing the South American nation hard hit by the new coronavirus and then dealt a second blow when two large pipelines broke, halting critical crude exports. Moreno in a nationwide broadcast...

FILE - In this March 5, 2020, file photo, Dr. Deborah Birx, Ambassador and White House coronavirus response coordinator, holds a 3M N95 mask as she and Vice President Mike Pence visit 3M headquarters in Maplewood, Minn., in a meeting with the company's leaders and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to coordinate response to the COVID-19 coronavirus. On Friday, April 3, 2020, the manufacturing giant pushed back against criticism from Trump over production of face masks that are badly needed by American health care workers. 3M said the administration asked it to stop exporting medical-grade masks to Canada and Latin America, which the company said raises “significant humanitarian implications” and will backfire by causing other countries to retaliate against the U.S. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP, File)/Star Tribune via AP)

President Donald Trump said Friday his administration will try to stop “profiteers” from exporting medical protective gear, shortly after picking a fight with manufacturing giant 3M, a major producer and exporter of face masks used to protect health care workers from the coronavirus. 3M argued that...

FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2019 file photo cargo cranes are used to take containers off of a Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation boat at the Port of Tacoma in Tacoma, Wash. The U.S. trade deficit tumbled in February 2020 to the lowest level since 2016 as exports fell and imports fell more. The politically sensitive gap in the trade of goods with China narrowed in February when the world's No. 2 economy was locked down to combat the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit tumbled in February to the lowest level since 2016 as exports fell and imports fell more. The politically sensitive gap in the trade of goods with China narrowed in February when the world's No. 2 economy was locked down to combat the coronavirus outbreak....

BERLIN (AP) — European countries trying to keep Iran's nuclear deal with world powers alive said Tuesday that a system they set up to enable trade with Tehran has finally concluded its first transaction, facilitating the export of medical goods. Britain, France and Germany conceived the complex...